


cherries and cigarettes

by dreamersball



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: AtLA, Drabbles, F/F, High School AU, tyzula - Freeform, tyzula baby!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:28:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25814317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamersball/pseuds/dreamersball
Summary: if anyone asked ty lee to describe her high school years, she would start with the taste of cherry lip gloss and the scent of smoke.tyzula high school drabbles.
Relationships: Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 177





	cherries and cigarettes

**Author's Note:**

> a bunch of high school moments with tyzula. very loosely written with the song "strawberries and cigarettes" by troye in mind. i own nothing!

ty lee is a good girl. she does all her work, she attends all her clubs, _and_ she’s the best gymnast at Caldera High School.

she’s popular, with friends all over the school. from mai, the quiet art goth, to suki, the class president, and to sokka, the comedic ultimate frisbee player. with her charm, beauty and grace; ty lee was a force to be reckoned with. 

ty lee made sure to carefully separate herself from the bad, and from her sisters as well. she was her own unique person, and she was a good girl.

her father was the town preacher, and she attended every sunday service. she hosted bible studies every wednesday’s, and made sure she spread her father’s teachings. she was vocal about her faith, and stuck to the bible closely.

she was a good girl, and she made sure to stay that way. 

except when it came to azula. 

azula was the valedictorian shoo-in, had a perfect 4.0 gpa, and was destined for great things. no one cared about her achievements though, they only cared that she was a prodigy in bending. the best fire bender anyone had seen in fact, in years. but that’s what made azula trouble.

the fire bender would be caught smoking in the bathroom, picking fights with those who dishonored her, and cutting classes when she felt like it. she balanced being a good student with the dark tendencies she displayed. she baffled teachers, as her older brother zuko was nothing like her. zuko was cherished, kind, and brilliant. 

azula was nothing but trouble. cunning, but trouble.

and ty lee loved trouble. 

  
  


____

ty lee never snuck out, she was a good girl like her father said. she never snuck out unless azula was calling. 

she knew when it was time to go, when those golden eyes shined the dark and perfectly manicured nails tapped on her windows. it wasn’t as scary a sight like it sounded- it was comforting. ty lee knew who was there and knew she was in safe hands. 

the girl always got ty lee back home safely before the sun rose, smelling vaguely of cherries and singed leather. the golden eyed girl always made sure to keep her headlights off and pull out quietly, so ty lee’s father wouldn’t know what had conspired outside his faithful house. 

ty lee would inhale that smell of azula the rest of the night, never letting it go. 

____ 

everyone knew ozai was a fiend, a force to be reckoned with. he was the governor, and was going to run for congress next. his delegations were strict and borderline cruel, and he treated his children the same. their mother, ursa, left when the kids were thirteen and ten. ever since then, it was zuko & azula. 

zuko escaped when he was eighteen, living with his uncle iroh while he attended Ba Sing Se University. 

azula was never so lucky to leave. she was the child left behind with ozai, and though she never blamed zuko or held it against him; ty lee knew the toll it took on her. zuko was her rock, and now that he was gone, she had to defend herself each and every day.

ty lee saw the golden eyes that gleamed at night, losing their spark in daylight. though her father ruthlessly condemned the golden eyed girl to hell for her sins and reckless behavior, ty lee always protected her. 

she knew that she was all azula really had in this town.

_______

many people noticed the bruises and cuts on azula’s arms and legs, but they never cared to ask why. they assumed azula was just in another fight.

(she was, but not with who they thought). 

ty lee saw the way azula’s hands shook when she had to leave the girl. she knew not to bring it up, but she always hugged the golden eyed girl. it was a stiff hug, but azula smelled like cigarette smoke and roses; and she would eventually wrap her arms around ty lee.

ty lee would watch the girl’s tail lights disappear, and wait by her phone for a text to signal she was home safe. she wouldn’t fall asleep until those three words lit up on her screen. 

_i’m safe ty._

and though ty lee would have dark rings under her eyes at sunday service, and would sometimes fall asleep during her father’s preachings, it was always worth it. 

_______

sometimes azula would get brave at school and show off her bending. 

when the hallways were crowded during the passing period, sometimes azula would send a fireball over everyone’s heads. just to show off her skills.

(everyone knew it was her, for her flames were blue).

but no one knew azula would only do it if she caught ty lee looking at her. the golden eyed girl was always a show off.

(mai and suki eventually caught on). 

one time the pair, scheming, yelled for azula to fire one near them. azula never backed down to a challenge.

(the natural born bender with a legacy never did).

she fired a perfect blue ball at the trio of girls. mai and suki scattered, leaving ty lee to fend for herself. ty lee froze a second too long, and braced herself to get burned.

it never came. 

instead, when she opened her eyes, she saw azula in front of her, holding the flame in her palm like she was holding a drink.

the golden eyed girl grinned at her, blushing when she saw the smirks on mai and suki’s face.

ty lee opened her mouth to say something, but was whisked away by her giggling friends.

(she would later get azula back for nearly burning her, but not after her friends teased her for being whipped for hours).

______________

ty lee’s favorite weekend trips were to the jasmine dragon. 

(it was only when her father was out of town attending bible camps and youth seminars, but ty lee always took the chance to escape). 

she, mai, suki, and sokka would cram themselves in katara’s car for a road trip. it was quite cramped, only because sokka refused to give up the middle seat, just so he could cuddle with suki. mai always got the front seat because _“love is gross”_. 

(suki would always buy ty lee’s tea for the trouble the gymnast went through).

iroh’s tea was fantastic, but she mainly went for the views. it was a 3 hour trip to the college town of Ba Sing Se, and though the college area was full of lush trees and big buildings; ty lee loved watched azula work. 

(for some reason, azula was always at the tea shop whenever ty lee got there for a trip).

sometimes the pair would get a separate table (even though ty lee’s friends teased her relentlessly) and ty lee was able to sit in silence for awhile with azula.

ty lee would be the only one usually talking, chatting away about her new favorite book or the what conspired on the latest episode of her favorite show, _Kyoshi Island._ azula wouldn’t say anything; just listen and play with ty lee’s hands. sometimes the golden eyed girl would hold her hand and listen intently, and ty lee would melt over and over again.

(there would be several photos sent in their group chat of ty lee blushing furiously while a smirking azula held her hand) 

(ty lee screenshotted every single one, after scolding her friends of course)

when it was time to leave, azula would always sneak ty lee a bag of iroh’s green tea cookies, and a little note that told her she was cute or whatnot. azula would always watch ty lee out, her golden eyed filled with emotion. ty lee would always wave, and blow a kiss. 

(though everyone saw azula blush like crazy, no one mentioned it) 

the writing changed every trip, and ty lee always kept the notes. they were in the locked box under her bed, safe from her prying father. 

as ty lee got into the car after this trip, she squeezed next to sokka as he began to cling to suki. suki rolled her eyes again and muttered _sorry,_ but ty lee was too involved in her note to care.

she unrolled it, and her heart nearly melted out of her chest.

_i like you._

_-zula_

ty lee grinned like an idiot for three straight hours; even as the group chat flooded with pictures of her smiling and sokka saying over and over that _ty lee has the oogies._

——

thursday’s were always fun, because they were meet day. ty lee was one of the best gymnasts in the Caldera area; a shoo-in for a full scholarship at Ba Sing Se University. 

she was on her third event of the night, beam. It was her best skill- she could even walk on her fingers if she wanted to. but that was showing off, according to coach feng. 

she was balancing on the beam, focusing on a new dismount. it was a triple flip into the landing- surely a challenge for any regular gymnast. but the acrobatic girl had skill and lithe- it also helped that she was very aerodynamic.

(she was 80% sure she had some air nomad in her, but her parents can’t confirm).

she took a deep breath, and threw herself backwards, flipping once, twice, three times. time stopped as she twisted her body in the air, arms tucked to her chin, and toes pointed straight. 

every breath was held in the large gymnasium, watching the pink clad gymnast float through the air.

(she landed it, of course. perfectly).

the gym erupted, cheers and whistles heard all around. ty lee panted, saluted the judges, and headed back to her teammates. she was swarmed with hugs from hikari and koko, and coach feng clapping her back enthusiastically.

as her teammates let go, ty lee made eye contact with the fourth row risers. there, she saw sokka, suki, katara and mai; all clad in pink t-shirts cheering. sokka was losing his mind, yelling so loud that suki had to yank him down in his seat, while flashing thumbs up at ty lee. she flashed them a wide toothy smile, and blew kisses back at katara and apathetic mai.

ty lee saw in the sixth row at the top, a figure slinking around in a pink t-shirt holding a single fire lily. she blushed, waving up at the girl, who gave a shy wave back.

(suki eventually dragged azula down to sit next to her. the golden eyed girl looked grumpy, but ty lee’s friends saw tears well up in her eyes when ty lee won all around gymnast).

(ty lee was late for the celebratory dinner at the _fire flakes diner_ because a certain girl with golden eyes wanted to give her the fire lily in person).

(and perhaps a kiss).

it was a good thing ty lee said goodbye to her parents first. 

——-

prom was always a chaotic event for ty lee’s friend group. the five of them always swarmed the dress shops a week before the actual event, causing complete destruction to the poor seamstresses.

(they tipped well though).

sokka would always get the shiny baby blue tux, even after katara begged him not to. mai settled for the velvet black gown, suki a emerald green gown, and katara a dark blue gown. ty lee, at no surprise to all of them, wore a light pink gown.

everyone had an official date except ty lee. sokka has asked suki in september- _because a good guy always asks months in advance-_ and katara was going with her new boyfriend aang. he was a spunky air nomad who always made the group laugh, and he made a ty lee a flower crown once. it was confirmed that he was a keeper.

mai managed, to the whole group's surprise, to drag zuko back. no one thought they could get the scarred boy to step back in the dreaded high school, but apparently mai could. sokka was convinced it was because _traumatized goths attract other traumatized goths,_ but stopped as soon as mai threatened to steal his new boomerang.

and so it was ty lee being the lone wolf. she didn’t mind, it was less stressful for her, because her parents would interrogate whoever asked her with the bible and it would end up in a big fight. besides, she would be with her best friends all night, so what was the big deal? 

(suki and mai didn’t believe her) 

ty lee knew something was up when suki dragged ty lee into the empty gymnasium before school started. the friend group usually sat in katara’s car blasting _the omashu boys_ until the warning bell rang for the first period. 

ty lee was barely awake, and was under dressed. it was a meet day, so she wore grey joggers and a pink crop top. her usually up do of a braided pony was ditched for a messy bun, and she hadn’t any makeup on.

(she really regretted all of that).

oddly enough, the gymnasium was dark. the lights weren’t even on yet, and she kept tripping on the mats as suki pulled her deeper into the gymnastics area. 

suki sat her down on the short beam, and directed her to _stay there._ ty lee began to protest that _she didn’t like being alone_ and _please don’t go_ ; but was shushed by suki and left alone.

ty lee sat on the beam, twiddling her thumbs. whatever her friends were planning better be good. she didn’t want to be late for sifu piando’s history class.

suddenly, the gym was lit up in blue light- no, flames. there were candles all around ty lee’s short beam, all in a pattern that ty lee saw was a heart. ty lee gasped, as a figure emerged from the heart, holding a single fire lily. 

azula stepped out in front of the candles, leather jacket clad and smelling faintly of cigarettes. the girl was obviously nervous, ty lee noticed, as her hands shook and her manicured nails were bit down. the golden eyed delinquent walked up to ty lee, and offered her the lily.

ty lee took it, eyes softening, knowing what was to come. azula gave her a crooked smile, and took a deep breath, and began to speak.

(ty lee barely let her finish before she yelled _yes_ and threw her arms around the blushing girl.)

(the pair didn’t see the group of friends cheering silently in the sixth row). 

(there may have been tears too)

(sokka claimed his tears were because _love is just so beautiful ok,_ as suki sympathetically patted his back).

(azula and ty lee may have skipped first period to hold hands in the gymnasium as well).

————

two girls, exhausted after a night of pictures, dancing, and sokka’s energy came home from prom a few minutes early.

the golden eyed girl parked her car a few houses away from ty lee’s, and yanked the pink gowned girl out of the car.

the two had a private dance under the moonlight, as the song _the avatar’s love_ played softly from the car. 

(suki would never show ty lee the pictures she captured from the bush she and sokka hid in) 

(it was of two girls, the taller one in a brilliant red dress and the shorter one in a pink dress, slow dancing under the moonlight; their foreheads pressed against one another).

(thankfully suki distracted ty lee’s father as the gymnast snuck the fire bender into her room). 

ty lee was a good girl, but loved trouble, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> i really enjoyed writing this one. thank you for reading!


End file.
